The invention relates to an apparatus for injecting fluid in soil and more particularly to such an apparatus for use in the subsurface irrigation of soil.
Gardeners and homeowners recognize the effectiveness of direct injection of water into the soil for irrigating trees, shrubs and other plants. Water treated with nutrients can also be injected to feed the root systems of such plants. Direct injection allows for accurate control over the amount of water provided, supplies the water directly to the root systems, and avoids water waste.
The simplest type of prior art soil injectors comprise a pipe which is attached to a garden hose or other fluid source and which is simply forced into the ground. Such devices are difficult to insert in all but the loosest soils and often must be driven into position with a hammer or the like.
To facilitate insertion of a pipe into soil for fluid injection various systems have been developed to drive the pipe. One such system used to inject pesticides in soil for the purpose of extermination is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,556. That system employs an electric drill to rotate a cutting bit at the end of the pipe. Another system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,804 which discloses the use of an electric impact hammer for driving the pipe into the soil. Still other devices rely on their weight or exterior bracing to drive the pipe.
While these systems accomplish their purpose of inserting a pipe for injecting fluid in soil, they are generally unsuitable for home subsoil irrigation. This is because irrigation is preferably accomplished by a series of short injections in which the fluid-injection pipe is repeatedly forced into the soil for a short time and then withdrawn and moved to a new location. The simple pipe device which is inserted by hand cannot be conveniently employed for repeated insertions because of the difficulty of making each insertion. On the other hand, the motor-assisted devices are too expensive for the average home gardener and have the associated problems of the separate power cord and consequent shock hazard. Devices which rely on their weight or external bracing are necessarily inconvenient to maneuver and are therefore unsuitable for making a series of short injections.